Alphas
The Alpha Theme List focuses on the Wave's heavy hitters - the Oni. It forgoes the Bakemono, and even the Onishio, making it very appealing for meat-grinder missions. Legal List only includes: * Oni: Bobata (12), Kemonono + Ushi (14), Rashka (13), Waka (8), Yusha (10), Zuba (12) * Non-Bat Animal: Kaihei (5), Kaihei Alpha (9), * Slave: Jun (4), Oni Slave (3) * Yoki: Nian (10) Benefits: * All Oni cost -1 Rice less * At the start of each round, increase one Oni's Fear by +1 (typically becoming 6+) for that round * If an Oni dies, all allied Oni gain Armor (2) for the rest of the round 35 Rice Lists Stunned and Prone * Rashka * Zuba * Oni Slave x2 * Jun A decent size force for the cost with two Oni and a trio of objective seeking Slaves. The two Oni can work in tandem to gain decent melee advantages (Rashka causes Stunned while Zuba causes Prone), though even on their own they deal absurd amounts of damage. Hunting Party * Yusha * Kaihei x2 * Kaihei Alpha * Oni Slave x2 While this list may not look like its taking much advantage of the theme, giving Yusha 6+ Fear for the whole game (for free) isn't something to ignore. The strategy of this band is also quite effective - the slaves chase objectives while Yusha keeps near the Kaihei pack to support them with "Inspire" and "Spur On". 50 Rice Lists Hunting Party Mk.2 * Yusha * Kaihei x2 * Kaihei Alpha * The Nian * Oni Slave x2 * Jun * +1 Rice Upgrade Essentially an upgrade to the 35-Rice list mentioned above, offering x3 objective seeking slaves and dividing your attacking forces in two - the Kaihei pack, and Yusha with the Nian. Even seperated Yusha can still use Command on the Kaihei pack (its range is global afterall), allowing him to focus on using "Inspired" on the Nian and control who it is hunting each turn. The First Four * Bobata * Kemono + Ushi * Waka * Zuba * Jun An easily outnumbered Warband with only 5 models, but given 80% are Oni, your enemy will be intimidated. Have your forces use Oni Rage each turn for the extra Ki (come turn 2 the enemy will feel the pain when each Daemon delivers a 5-dice Melee strike!) Jun tags along to offer some survival to the group - allowing him to sacrifice himself to save one of your titans - but typically will act last and can potentially be assigned to chase objectives. Waka also becomes useful as you can give him 6+ fear and act before his peers to "tank" the enemy. Should the enemy choose to attack him, the rest of your Daemons can use that to their advantage. Rising Under-Daemon * Rashka * Waka * Yusha * Zuba * Oni Slave * Jun A variant of the design above - trading Kemono/Ushi and Bobata, for Rashka, Yusha and a Slave. The benefit of this group is that it lets the much unloved Waka fight on par with his peers with Yusha's "Inspire". In fact this can also be used to increase the accuracy of Waka's one-shot missile to assure it will hit. This may encourage the enemy to focus their fire on Yusha which can work fine for you as, if he is on 1-2 Health at the start of a turn, you can have your two Slaves kill him via blood letting to give them a boost and give the rest of your surviving Oni Armor (2)! Three by Three * Kemono + Ushi * Rashka * Zuba * Oni Slave x2 * Jun The Thunder * Bobata * Rashka * Zuba * Kaihei x2 * Oni Slave A decently sized force of 6 models, which include three decently powerful Oni who support each other decently well. Have Bobata and Rashka inflict Stun on your foes, have Zuba knock targets Prone with his ranged attack, and send your Kaihei in to take out the dazed and downed victims. The slave should in turn keep their distance from the fight, offering the occasion stab to an exhausted target, but otherwise look to mostly be securing the objectives or providing an outnumbering bonus for the big guys